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Adult Swim’s Rick and Morty series is without a doubt the most popular cartoon going today. And it’s not even on TV right now. The show has explored interesting science fiction concepts and been dirty as hell while doing it. One of the untapped elements of the show is Rick’s life prior to living (reluctantly) with his daughter’s family. This new issue from Oni Press aims to show us something truly mesmerizing Rick created 20 years ago.
So what’s it about?
Read the preview.
Why does this matter?
Kyle Starks and Marc Ellerby are consistently good in this series and write the main story. Magdalene Visaggio is wrapping up her backup series of mind-swapping madness.
Fine, you have my attention. What’s good about it?
This can’t end well.
The main story is yet another example of how careless and borderline evil Rick Sanchez is and has been in the past. The adventure starts with him taking Morty and Summer to his personal pet project known as the Mesozorick Park. (Cue Jurassic Park theme.) Well, not quite. Starks reveals things went wrong at the park, but instead of every last man dying like in Spielberg’s classic some of them are alive. They’re also very angry and want to kill Rick. It’s one of those tales, but it kicks things up a notch in the gore and sex (dinosaur sex!) department. Starks uses a recurring joke about one of the park rangers that consistently works and the gore works due to Morty and Summer’s appalled reaction. It’s a nice done in one tale that suits the series and isn’t too hard to fathom.
Ellerby draws the main story expertly landing the jokes, making the gore very gruesome, and even pulling off a dinosaur sex scene so as to not offend, but also make you laugh. The dinosaurs look great (although the creative team could have won over science fans if they had feathers) and the likenesses of the park workers to the film versions is close enough to get the joke.
Magdalene Visaggio wraps up her story opening with Morty on the edge of beating his family to death with a bat. Things get weird, people die, and we finally get to see what happens if you shoot someone with a portal gun. The story ends with a somewhat depressing but funny note and reiterates just how fucked up this family is.
So he’s like Chris Pratt in the new films?
It can’t be perfect can it?
Two minor things caught me one is how plump Summer looks in the first half. There are scenes where her face is a little too fat or her belly a little too round. I honestly wondered if she was pregnant though that isn’t the case.
The second thing is the main story is good but short and quick enough to serve as the first 10 minutes of an episode rather than a full one. It has hijinks, sets things up, but it ends in a way that makes you wonder what could happen next.
Is It Good?
Another good issue with plenty of laughs and this time with beautifully gross gore. This is a no-brainer read for anyone who loves the cartoon.
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